Stress Management – Music can be used for Relaxation

According to research, music has an intense effect on the human body and mind. Music has healing properties that help ease muscle tension and lift depression. It has been used to help cancer patients, people suffering from post operative stress and even children with ADD. In recent years, music has been used as a powerful tool in therapy sessions to calm the mind and body of patients. Today music is one of the most effective tools for inducing relaxation.In the current scenario as more and more people fall victims to negative stress, there is high demand for an effective stress management tool that people can use on a daily basis. This is where music comes in. Unlike other stress management tools like meditation, yoga, counseling or massage, listening to music does not require any special time or investment. This is one of the reasons for its popularity as an effective stress management tool.

According to doctors, relaxation music CDs and video can stimulate activity corresponding to its beats in the brain. That is why soothing music encourages contemplation and relaxation. The alterations in brain activity caused by music lead to widespread changes in other bodily functions. Thus music has an impact on breathing and heart rate. Listening to relaxation music CDs and video leads to the activation of relaxation response in the body.

Music effectively counteracts the damaging effects of extreme stress. It can reduce blood pressure, boost immunity and relieve tension in the muscles. Slower breathing and relaxed heart rate brings about relaxation in the body. It is even believed that music has the ability to reduce the risk of stroke and heart related problems. These healing properties of music explain the frequent use of relaxation music CDs and video in therapy and counseling.

There is another reason why music can be effectively used for relaxation. Research has shown that the change music brings in brainwave activity makes it easier for the brain to shift into a calm and meditative state more easily on its own when the need arises in future. Therefore, music has a lasting impact on our response to stress. The power of music does not stop there. People battling with high amounts of negative stress often feel frustration and anxiety. These negative stress responses can wreck havoc on the body, mind and life of people suffering from it. Music can be used to encourage a positive state of mind in people who are stressed out.

With so many beneficial effects on the body and mind, it is little wonder that music is finding a place of pride and importance in mind therapy. Different kinds of music are used for different types of therapy. The music used for relaxation is generally mild and soothing, and it has a calming effect on the body. You may choose instrumental music or music interwoven with positive affirmations to help you ward off the detrimental effects of negative stress. Whatever kind of music you use, it is obvious that music is one of the easiest, most affordable and effective forms of relaxation available to us.

: article by Lizzi Loraine

Today’s Music Industry: How Technology & the Internet Has Changed It

The music industry has been changing greatly. Today, there are more & more opportunities for anyone who is an aspiring musician to get noticed, whether they be a singer-songwriter, rock band, rapper, or producer. The creation of Myspace (& other musical online communities) allows for exposure of people’s music. With a self-produced demo, you can post your songs up on Myspace, and after establishing a great following of fans, Major Record Labels might notice you & even choose to sign you. This is very different from the olden days, when trying to get your music exposed wasn’t as easy.Also, the creation of mp3’s, online music stores & distributors (such as iTunes, Soundclick, & Pure Volume), has made it very easy for artists to distribute their music. No longer will you have to go to a studio to record your songs onto cd’s in order to give out to your friends and other people to listen. All you have to do is buy a computer, and with the necessary digital recording programs out there available, you can record your songs as mp3’s & distribute them all throughout the internet. Obviously if your songs are good enough, people will like them and pass them along to others, and you will get noticed.

Besides audio recording, digital technology has made the creation of music easier in other aspects. Due to more & more developments in digital audio workstations, anyone can produce their own music at home. No longer will you need to buy drum kits, keyboard synthesizers, & other music production hardware. You can go through the whole process of creating your own music through the use of your home computer.

: article by Johnny Ye

Sleep Music: A Safe and Pleasant Sleep Aid

After many years of puzzling over the mysteries of sleep, we are now in the era that is quite well educated and well equipped to become more educated about sleep. We now know that sleep, the activity wherein we become temporarily unconscious, especially during the nighttime, is one of the most significant ingredients in our lives.We are also now very well informed concerning the harm of ignoring sleep and depriving oneself of sleep. There have been numerous and continuous research and studies regarding the various difficulties that may befall a person who has lacked or lost sufficient sleep or has been deprived of sleep.

Along with these studies of sleep disorders and sleeping problems, are researches on how best to combat them. About 3 years ago, researchers of the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at the Case Western Reserve University and Taiwan’s Tzu Chi Buddhist General Hospital have turned up with studies showing that listening to slow and soft music during bedtime can help people, especially older adults in achieving better and longer sleep.

According to the research, which was published on the last February 2005’s The Journal of Advanced Nursing edition, older people suffering from sleeping problems have reported that there have been at least 35% improvement in their situation after they listed to soft music about 45 minutes before their bedtime.

The research has affirmed the fact that music is actually a safe, pleasant and low cost way in order to help an elderly person to fall asleep easily and maintain their sleep quality and duration. Also, using sleep music is very easy and it does not have any side effects contrary to other, claimed to be “natural” sleep aids.

Nowadays, using sleep music to aid a person in falling asleep is not only used on elderly people but also in infants, young children and even students and professionals who have different forms of sleep disorder. Furthermore, even if not really recommended by a professional sleep doctor, we can always use sleep music in order to relax and meditate.

There are many different types of sleep music that can aid us into relaxing and eventually, slipping easily into sleep without much fidgeting or tossing and turning in bed. We can also play music while doing other pre-bedtime routines like taking a warm and aromatic bath and reading.

Here is several of the sleep music that you may like to try:

1. New Age Music – when referring to this kind of music, what usually come to our minds are the popular renditions of Enya. Actually, there are other Irish talents that produce New Age music and can be as effective in relaxing and soothing you as Enya hits do. You might like trying out music by Loreena McKennit, Clannad and others.

2. Ambient Music – this kind of music is inspired from nature or natural sounds. There is nothing more relaxing than hearing the soft rustle of the winds against the leaves, the sounds of gently rolling waves in the sea, the hum of cicadas, the faraway croaks of the frogs, the soft wailing of the wind during the night and many other natural sounds that makes us feel serene and at peace.

If you wonder why you always feel sleepy and relaxed when you are in a provincial surrounding and atmosphere, then this is the reason, the natural sounds that are usual in such rural places.

There are many other kinds of sleep music that you can try, Theta meditation, Frank Prince’s Speed Sleep, Brain Wave Suite and Journeying to Dreams melodies.

: article by Gerrard Mackenzie

A Brief History Of Musical Instruments

No one is certain when the first musical instruments were made. It’s possible that they predate language in human cultural development, but I’ll leave that argument to the anthropologists. What is sure is that there is a deep, ancient desire within people to express themselves using sound. Our voices were almost certainly used for more than communication. Somehow that was not enough. Our ancestors pushed creative sound further.The first instruments were probably percussive because they are the simplest to make. Clapping hands or striking flint on flint, it’s easy to imagine that this would be our earliest attempts to make our own rhythm, our own pulse, sent out into the world and echoed back. What likely followed were simple mallets and skins stretched on bowls. What makes these tools so distinct is that were not needed for hunting, food preparation or defense; they had no other purpose than to create a controlled, predictable sound. With advances in metallurgy, gongs and bells developed. Our modern drums are a descendant of this type of early instrument.

Most likely, wind instruments came next. These could have been created relatively easily with a hollowed out plant stem or animal horn to create a simple whistle or horn. The initial benefit was increased amplification. Later, it was discovered that the resonating chamber of the instrument could be manipulated to give differences in pitch. Significantly, many of the wind instruments use breathing to generate and control the sonic effects, which closely resembles our vocal chords. Further technical advancements in smelting and metal working gave us instruments with more sound making precision and exceptional durability. Modern trumpets and saxophones are closely related to these early instruments. Xylophones and organs are special percussive-wind hybrids that gave chording or polyphony in a single instrument.

Stringed instruments likely came last. Egyptian records indicate that instruments using vibrating strings existed at the time of the pharaohs, near the dawn of recorded civilization. Lyres and harps are early examples and their manufacture and required a dedicated craftsman for their manufacture. Strings not only give the instrument a potential for harmony and cording on one device, but also frees the vocal chords of the performer for singing in accompaniment. A later development added a resonating chamber making the instruments potentially louder. Violins and guitars are modern string instruments. Pianos are a special hybrid; it has hammers that strike the strings making it percussive and stringed.

The control and use of electricity took musical instruments to a completely new level with developments like the microphone and amplifier. Guitars had pick-ups added, keyboards had wave form manipulation and the most mind-boggling innovations have come with computers and digital music. Effects technology that alters the sound between the instrument and amplifier keep adding rich tonal qualities that are still being explored. Experiments are being conducted to create plasma instruments and other advances could bring instruments that interface directly with our brains.

Like our ancestors, we still use sound to create and the instruments we use are developed along with our technology. We keep stretching the possibilities toward the horizon and when we arrive, I believe we will find more horizon to explore.

: article by Alan Phillips

The Value of Learning a Musical Instrument

It’s very important for everyone to have an outlet of some sort, particularly to alleviate stress. Athletics, art, and playing a musical instrument are all fantastic outlets for stress.For most people who remember their teenage years may remember how truly challenging and stressful they really were! With all the many emotional and physical changes that occur during this awkward time in life can be difficult to deal with, to say the least.

For this reason, it is extremely important for teenagers to have an outlet! Being involved in sports, doing art, or playing guitar or drums are certainly better outlets than watching television or just listening to music. Mainly because the first three require right brain activity.

If you are a teenager, or a full grown adult, I encourage to find something that you enjoy to manage stress. We all know stress can take years off your life, and managing it is critically important!

If you are already involved in a sport, then good for you. If not, it may be difficult to break into one at this point.

Most people who are excelling in a particular sport typically have been involved in it since elementary school. Given that fact, joining a team at this stage may be rather intimidating! But, that’s not to say you can’t get involved in a sport at your local YMCA.

They usually have something going on that is open to their members who simply just want to have fun and burn off some stress.

If you are involved in art, then again, good for you! It seems art is something one truly enjoys if he or she is good at it. Those who are not good at it typically will not stay with it for long. It’s like anything, though… the better you are at something, the more you tend to enjoy it. And the reverse is true as well… the more you enjoy what you’re doing, the better you will become at it.

Playing a musical instrument is in a different realm altogether. Opportunities abound practically for anyone that didn’t have an interest as a child (as opposed to playing sports). And, unlike art, learning to play a musical instrument such as the drums, guitar, keyboard, or a wind instrument may open many doors of opportunity like possibly joining a rock band, jazz band, or a marching band. Also you may be able to participate in local theatre and competitions.

Learning to play a musical instrument is linked to improved coordination, higher concentration levels, improved language skills, improved social skills, improved memory skills, and higher test scores.

So, if athletics or art are activities you are not too excited about, give a musical instrument a try. There are schools and music teachers who offer lessons for people of any age and skill level. There are also numerous books that are self-teaching, which will give you basic instruction to help you get started.

: article by Danny Brown